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It was on June 19, 1865 — known as Juneteenth — that the true end of slavery in our country came to pass. On June 19, 2020, Asante launched its Equity, Diversity and Inclusion steering committee, recognizing the historical significance of that day.
The ED&I committee is composed of employees from across the organization tasked with ensuring we’re living our Asante Values; brainstorming ideas and solutions for improvement; and listening to the voices of our employees and community for opportunities to engage and act.
In its first year, the committee has taken several meaningful steps to advance equity, diversity and inclusion at Asante and within our community:
- An ED&I representative is participating in a community group addressing health equity specific to COVID-19 vaccine access and hesitancy.
- A representative also sits on the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems’ Health Equity Advisory Taskforce as part of a statewide ED&I initiative.
- Human Resources policies are being examined on their review dates to remove bias and gender-specific pronouns when possible.
- An outside agency specializing in marginalized groups is helping Asante improve diversity in our workforce candidate pool nationally.
- Focus groups with providers and employees from all levels have been held to learn about primary diversity concerns and top issues for the committee to address.
- Specific ED&I concepts are being highlighted each month in Asante News to educate employees on various topics.
- Diversity and culture questions have been added to our Employee Engagement Survey to help the organization gain insight and guide the committee’s future work.
As we acknowledge Juneteenth this year, we reaffirm our commitment to providing an inclusive culture for employees and patients and to offering a safe space for dialogue. If you have ideas to share or questions, please email the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion steering committee at ED*@as****.org.
If you have a question, please contact the author or relevant department directly.
2 Comments. Leave new
I support Asante‘s work toward equity, diversity & inclusion! In that spirit is some info about Juneteenth.
Slavery didn’t end in our country until Dec. 6, 1865 when the 13th Amendment took effect. The only exceptions at that time were “Indian territory” and (still) criminals.
Juneteenth celebrates the day when enslaved people of Texas discovered that they should have been free since April when General Lee surrendered at Appomattox. Winning the Civil War meant that the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation was applied law in the formerly rebellious states, but still a half million people remained enslaved in northern states unfit another 6 months.
Here in Oregon the 13th Amendment wasn’t ratified until December 8th, 1865, so Oregon was not a state that participated in passing the amendment, but wasn’t a significant holdout either.
Thanks, Scott, for shining a light on our history with a shared value of treating others with dignity and respect.
I am glad that Asante is beginning to do this work, to improve healthcare outcomes in our Valley. I greatly appreciate the added information from Rochelle (comments). Along those lines, June is also Pride month, and I would love to see more institutional awareness and celebration of the Queer community.